FM Qureshi meets Iranian President during Middle East peace mission

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi met with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in Tehran on Sunday to discuss the ongoing situation in the Middle East and plead the case for de-escalation in the region.
During the meeting, he iterated that Pakistan would not involved itself in any regional conflict, but would play its part for peace.
Earlier, Qureshi landed in Mashhad where he was received by the deputy governor the Khorasan province. After visiting the Imam Reza shrine, he continued his journey to Tehran.
According to an official statement released by Pakistan’s foreign ministry in Islamabad on Saturday night, Qureshi will proceed to Riyadh on January 13 to hold talks with Saudi Foreign Minister H.H. Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and consult on issues of regional peace and stability.
The restive Middle East region found itself on the brink of another conflict in the beginning of this month when the US killed a top Iranian military commander, Major General Qassem Soleimani, in an attack authorized by President Donald Trump.
Soleimani was a high-profile figure in his country and was thought to be the man behind Tehran’s military influence in the region. He was killed in a drone strike while he was in Baghdad only a few days after the American embassy in Iraq was targeted by pro-Iranian militiamen.
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday said he had instructed foreign minister Qureshi to travel to Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States to convey Pakistan’s willingness to play a constructive role for peace in the region.
Qureshi is also scheduled to fly to the US on January 16.